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“To Leaven the Lump”: a Critical History of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship in New Zealand

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“To Leaven the Lump”: a Critical History of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship in New Zealand “To Leaven the Lump”: A Critical History of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship in New Zealand By Zane Mather A Thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Religious Studies Victoria University of Wellington 2011 ABSTRACT This thesis is an interpretation of the history and character of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship in New Zealand (NZAPF). It focuses on accounting for the limited growth and influence of the Fellowship upon New Zealand’s largest Christian denomination, and on the continuing marginality of the pacifist position. Throughout its history, the organisation has sought to convince others within the Anglican Church that an absolutist, politically engaged and non-anarchistic pacifism is the truest Christian response to the problem of modern warfare. This has been attempted primarily through efforts at education aimed at both clergy and laity. The thesis argues that the NZAPF has been characterised by a commitment to absolute doctrinaire pacifism, despite ongoing tensions between this position and more pragmatic considerations. Overall, the NZAPF attracted only a small group of members throughout its history, and it exerted a limited demonstrable influence on the Anglican Church. This thesis analyses the reasons for this, focusing especially on those factors which arose from the nature of the NZAPF itself, the character of its pacifism, and the relationship between the NZAPF and its primary target audience, the Anglican Church in New Zealand. The research is based on literature and correspondence from the NZAPF as well as personal communication with extant members, where this was feasible. It additionally draws on a range of relevant secondary literature on Christian pacifism, and the history of the Anglican Church and the peace movement in New Zealand. i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to briefly thank my two supervisors, Dr Geoff Troughton and Dr Michael Radich of Victoria University of Wellington, as well as the other staff and students of the Religious Studies department, for their criticism, guidance and support. Heartfelt thanks are also due for the crucial encouragement given by many friends and family, especially Mum for all her support, both moral and financial! And, finally, to LJ, Polly and Mondo, for that one day. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i Acknowledgments ii Table of Contents iii Introduction 1 Chapter One: History of the NZAPF 11 Chapter Two: The Character of NZAPF Pacifism 39 Chapter Three: The NZAPF and the Anglican Church 64 Chapter Four: The NZAPF and Just War 86 Conclusion 99 Bibliography 104 iii INTRODUCTION The horrors recounted in Archibald Baxter’s account of his experiences as a conscientious objector, We Will Not Cease , came as a profound shock to me when I first read that book in 2009. 1 Growing up at the end of the twentieth century in nuclear-free New Zealand, I took the liberal and peaceful attitudes of my parents and peers for granted. Yet here was a very different New Zealand society; one bloody- minded enough to physically and mentally torture a man for his refusal to participate in war. Imagining myself in Baxter’s position, I could only admire his courage and wonder at the internal reserves of strength upon which he drew. Baxter’s pacifist ideal was grounded in a simple application of his understanding of Jesus’ ethic and a strong sense of the incompatibility of loving one’s neighbour while shooting at him from across a trench. In service of this ideal, Baxter was prepared to accept suffering rather than to inflict it. This thesis examines the pacifism of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship (APF), with particular respect to the ideas and activities that have characterised the history of the organisation’s New Zealand branch (NZAPF). Though Baxter’s story is not directly related to that of the APF, it connects in significant ways. The pacifism of the APF issues from the same essential conviction as Baxter’s—that the teachings of Christ and the practice of warfare are fundamentally incompatible. Moreover, the APF’s history spans a period during which the illiberal society which imprisoned Baxter changed enormously to become the society in which I grew up. This thesis partly arises from a desire to understand the place of a principled Christian pacifism like Baxter’s in this changing context. 1 Archibald Baxter, We Will Not Cease (Christchurch: Caxton Press, 1965). 1 Throughout its history, the APF has sought to convince others within the Anglican Church that Christian discipleship and participation in warfare are incompatible. This thesis analyzes the NZAPF’s efforts to engage with the Church and broader New Zealand society in an attempt to persuade others of the value of its pacifist position. It argues that the NZAPF has been characterised by a commitment to absolute doctrinaire pacifism, despite ongoing tensions between this position and more pragmatic considerations. Notwithstanding the emergence of an apparently more peaceful society, and an arguably more peace-oriented Church, the absolute pacifism of the NZAPF has remained a marginal influence. The NZAPF typically attracted only a small group of members throughout its history, and it exerted a limited demonstrable influence on the Anglican Church. In accounting for this marginality, a number of factors evidently contributed. This thesis assesses these factors, focusing especially on those that stem from the nature of the NZAPF itself, the character of its pacifism, and the relationship between the NZAPF and its target audience, the Anglican Church in New Zealand. The Anglican Pacifist Fellowship The Anglican Pacifist Fellowship was formed in England by the popular clergyman Dick Sheppard in 1937. It was intended to be an explicitly Anglican counterpart to Sheppard’s own Peace Pledge Union (PPU). 2 Sheppard’s aim for the Fellowship was for it to act as a pacifist voice within the Anglican Church, convincing others within the Church that pacifism was the most truly Christian response to the problem of modern warfare. The New Zealand branch of the APF was formed in Christchurch in 1948 and is extant today. Members are drawn from communicant members of the Anglican Church, both clergy and laity. 2 Fuller details of the origins of the APF, and NZAPF, are addressed in Chapter One below. 2 By and large the NZAPF as a corporate entity has eschewed direct protest action. Members have preferred to persuade others within the Church that they are already called to pacifism by virtue of their faith. They have approached laity by organising debates, talks, and sending correspondence to church newspapers. Additionally, they have written directly to clergy and sponsored a missioner, English APF member Sidney Hinkes, to give sermons and interviews throughout New Zealand. Outside of the Church, the support of NZAPF members was important in setting up the National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Otago, which also shows a commitment to education. In many respects, the NZAPF represents a continuation of the liberal Protestant pacifist tradition. This is the name given to the predominant strain of pacifism within the Anglo-American Christian peace movement in the years between World War One and World War Two. It was characterised by the attempt to apply the principled pacifist ethic to the political realm. Consistent with the liberal theological tradition, it aimed to reconcile modern thinking with teachings of Christ and of the Church. Fundamentally, it was optimistic that war could be eliminated through education and moral persuasion. The NZAPF shares with liberal Protestant pacifism the tendency to advocate pacifism as a personal and political stance, and to see education as a transforming force. However, it has done this in the years after World War Two, in a context that has been much less favourable and receptive to these characteristic ideas. The outbreak of World War Two led to the almost total eclipse of the liberal Protestant pacifist tradition. Those who had supported the pacifist position primarily on practical grounds abandoned it in the face of the failure of peaceful efforts to restrain the aggression of the Axis powers. Those who remained pacifists tended to 3 be those for whom pacifism was a matter of absolute principle, usually religious, and untouched by the potential impotence of pacifism as a political strategy. New Zealand society in general has become less militaristic over the time of the NZAPF’s existence. However the peace movement which exerted pressure over issues like the Vietnam War and, most successfully, nuclear weapons, was fundamentally different from the Christian pacifist movement. It was much more diverse in its motivations, and tended to focus more on specific issues without defending an absolute claim. Essentially, it was less ambitious. NZAPF members often co-operated with other peace groups on an individual level and there was some small corporate presence at particular protests. However, the primary purpose and thrust of activity in the Fellowship was always to persuade other Anglicans of the value of the pacifist position. In this respect, they have been marginal. The number of members has always remained small, never growing far beyond one hundred individuals. The group’s influence within and without the Church has also been slight, as a result of a combination of factors, which this thesis will unpack. In balancing purity of message with the desire for growth, the NZAPF has consistently declined to compromise on their original absolute pacifism, despite the unpopularity of the position. The Fellowship also retained a commitment to mid-twentieth century conceptions of pacifism and its political ramifications which became less relevant in more recent years. By focusing on the Anglican Church in particular, the NZAPF ran into difficulties due to traditions of Anglican conservatism and alignment with the State, and a marked lack of inclination within the Church to consider issues of war and peace in theological terms.
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